Cafeteria plan benefits in the first half of 2021

One of the annually recurring tasks of employers at the beginning of each new year is obtain employees’ declarations on their cafeteria allocations. In the first weeks of 2021, this can cause quite a bit of headache!

On the one hand, the good news is that the higher limits on SZÉP (Széchenyi Recreational) cards and the exemption from the social contribution tax are available for another six months, but the very same temporary nature of these measures also raises some questions. The situation seems have become a bit clearer when the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) recently published an official bulletin in connection with this issue. On the other hand, a new, rather unpleasant surprise – hidden for a long time between the lines in the Official Gazette (Magyar Közlöny), on the new rules applicable to vocational training contribution from 1 January 2021 – also suddenly emerged. On the basis of the latter it would appear that the usual cafeteria benefits will indeed be subject to the vocational contribution tax in the new year.

How did the rules applicable to cafeteria benefit plans change from 1 January 2021? Our present newsletter will summarise the most important rules. To read the whole newsletter below.